Courts and Crime

On March 19, deputies with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shots fired call at an address on Hale Street in Goodview.
When deputies arrived they heard screaming coming from the residence and located a female victim who had been shot. Upon investigation, it was determined that the suspect, Ronald Lumsden, 63, had come to the residence and allegedly shot the female twice during a struggle, according to a news release from the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.

Curtis Bartlett, a Carroll County Sheriff’s Department deputy, died in the line of duty last Thursday night, killed when his patrol car collided with a tractor-trailer while on the way to assist fellow officers involved in a chase of a suspect from Bedford County.
Though he met a tragic end, Carroll Sheriff J.B. Gardner said Bartlett, 32, died doing what he lived for: “He wanted to chase bad guys and catch them.”

The Rev. Joshua Ball, pastor of Grace House, Bedford’s now closed homeless shelter, is now facing criminal charges.
According to Bedford Police Chief Todd Foreman, Ball was arrested on warrants for assault and issuing a bad check.
The arrest warrant for assault was obtained by a 21-year-old male who alleged that he had gone to see Ball and that Ball was angry with him and hit him. Foreman said citizens may obtain warrants by providing probable cause to a magistrate.

Because of considerable new evidence filed in the capital murder case of Lloyd Lee Welch Jr., the trial date has been rescheduled from April 18 to Sept. 12.

The rescheduling of the trial was approved during a motions hearing in Bedford Circuit Court Friday afternoon. Also during the hearing, Judge James Updike approved a defense motion request to hire a DNA expert—Dr. Thomas McClintock of Liberty University—at an expected cost of $21,000.
The prosecution has listed a number of DNA experts as possible witnesses.

At 8:05 a.m. February 2, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a report from the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, the dispatcher advised they had received a call from a man who said he was behind a truck that had been stolen from Old Station Loop, Hardy in Bedford County. The caller stated that he worked for the company in Rocky Mount that owned the truck and the white male driving it did not work for the company.

Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced the sentencing of a Vinton man who previously pleaded guilty to stealing funds from the Social Security Administration, while hiding his dead grandmother in a barrel.

A worker at the Bedford County Animal Shelter has been indicted with felony animal cruelty, in connection with injuries to a cat that led it to have to be euthanized.

Bryan Thomas Skinnell, 44, of Bedford, was arrested Sept. 26 of last year on the charge following the investigation of a complaint that was filed on Aug. 10. Skinnell’s employment at the shelter was terminated after he was charged. A Bedford County grand jury indicted him on the charge Friday.